Energy and Environment

Alex is determined to fight the existential threat of climate change. Having grown up in a low-income, heavily polluted neighborhood, he is dedicated to ensuring that every family has access to clean air and clean water. He served for six years as Chair of the California State Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications, where he led the development of California’s ambitious renewable energy and climate policies that now serve as a model for the rest of the country. Alex’s environmental leadership has continued in the U.S. Senate. In addition to cosponsoring the Green New Deal, Alex introduced sweeping legislation to electrify our nation’s school buses and protect over one million acres of public lands in California, increasing access to nature and preserving California’s natural treasures for generations to come.

Alex understands the threat that increasingly frequent and catastrophic natural disasters and extreme weather events pose to California and the Western United States. That’s why he fought to secure millions of dollars in federal funding for flood control infrastructure to protect communities from catastrophic floods and rising sea levels. His bill the POWER ON Act was signed into law by President Biden to prevent utility outages caused by natural disasters like wildfires and other extreme weather events. And while California continues to face the threat of devastating wildfires, Alex led the successful passage of the FIRE Act, to modernize the way FEMA prepares for and responds to wildfires.

Recent News

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $600 million grant to improve California’s electricity grid and build clean energy projects faster WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler (both D-Calif.) and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) announced the passage of a bipartisan resolution to celebrate National Farmers Market Week from August 4 through August 10, 2024. The resolution recognizes the vital role that...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, announced that he secured several top water infrastructure priorities for California through the unanimous Senate passage of the...
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $600 million grant to improve California’s electricity grid and build clean energy projects faster WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler (both D-Calif.) and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) announced the passage of a bipartisan resolution to celebrate National Farmers Market Week from August 4 through August 10, 2024. The resolution recognizes the vital role that...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, announced that he secured several top water infrastructure priorities for California through the unanimous Senate passage of the...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement of up to $75 million awarded across five California irrigation...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the Park Fire and other wildfires burn across California and force communities to evacuate, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to pass the Wyden-Smith tax proposal, which includes...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced three bills introduced by Padilla to reduce earthquake hazards, combat extreme heat health risks, and strengthen cybersecurity and telecommunications on...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.-16) introduced legislation to allow the National Park Service to acquire the 896-acre Scarper Ridge property in San Mateo County adjacent to Rancho Corral De Tierra,...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, amid dangerous levels of heat across much of the United States, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) led five Senators in calling on the National Weather Service (NWS) to publish an official federal definition for heat domes....
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Representative Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.-24) wrote to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Department of Commerce...
COMMERCE, CA — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was joined by senior leadership from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) to announce nearly...